NUCLEAR WAR-FEAR

'Atomic Iran' warnings prove accurate

Without specifically saying “I told you so,” best-selling author Jerome Corsi has pointed out that the warnings he gave in his 2005 release “Atomic Iran” are proving to be worryingly accurate.

“The time when Iran will have a bomb is imminent … no matter how many times they swear their intentions are entirely peaceful,” Corsi wrote in an April 2005 column.

“When I wrote “Atomic Iran,” I predicted that the negotiations with the EU-3 would fail,” Corsi told WND. “I wrote that Iran’s continued efforts to develop atomic weapons secretly would leave no alternative except to take Iran before the Security Council for additional sanctions. I also predicted that the United Nations would not be able to do anything effective to stop Iran. Today, we are seeing all of this and more come to fruition.”

“What will happen next?” Corsi asks. “Iran will make an atomic bomb. They already have proved their Shahab-3 missile is solid-fuel ready. This reduces the launch time to virtually nothing, making the Shahab-3 harder to hit by the Patriot and Arrow anti-missile systems we and the Israelis have in place. A missile is most reliably downed immediately after launch. Hitting a missile when it is in the final stages of heading to earth is like hitting a bullet with a bullet – almost impossible. The Shahab-3 will easily reach Tel Aviv.”

In the April column as well as in his book, Corsi revealed the Islamic Republic of Iran had announced the results of a successful test of the Shahab-3, which flew 1,700 kilometers fast and accurately in March 2005. Today, CBS and the AP report “experiments with high explosives, possibly linked to future weapons tests, were carried out as recently as 2003 in Iran.”

Corsi argues that the current buzz surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions “is not alarmist fear-mongering.” And the proof comes straight from the mouth of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In recent months, Ahmadinejad made headlines for claiming the Holocaust was a “myth,” and by announcing: “We don’t shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world.”

Nuclear capabilities and a radical desire to rule the world do not mix. In October, Ahmadinejad declared his desire for Israel to be “wiped out from the map of the world.” The remarks were not a flippant off-the-cuff comment. The hard-line Iranian president was speaking before “The World Without Zionism” conference. Following his speech, 3,000 students in attendance began chanting “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!”

As if the conference’s harsh rhetoric were not enough, Iran has recently promised immediate retaliation if Tehran is referred to the U.N. Security Council. Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, told the Guardian that any military action by the U.S. or Israel against Iran would have “severe consequences” and would be countered “by all means” at Iran’s disposal.

Wednesday, Britain, France and Germany, along with U.S. support, submitted a draft resolution asking the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council. As a result, all members of the Security Council agreed not to take action or impose sanctions until the IAEA presents its report regarding Iran’s nuclear program in early March.

Yesterday, the IAEI Board of Governors began its two-day emergency session after “reaching an impasse in negotiations with Iran when the Islamic state announced last month that it had broken IAEA sales on its nuclear facilities,” according to CNN. A vote on the EU3’s draft resolution is expected to take place today.

Meanwhile, U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress yesterday that while Iran probably does not have nuclear weapons or the material necessary to produce them, they remain a matter of “highest concern.”

Corsi disagrees:

“Iran was able in four months to open Isfahan and solve the technical problems necessary to produce uranium hexafluoride gas. Now Natanz has been opened. Iran will need only a few more months to solve the technical problems of enriching uranium. We are not years away from Iran’s ability to have a nuclear weapon; we may only be months away.

“Iran has turned over to the military the operation of its nuclear program. The IAEA has disclosed documents that show Iran has explored the process of turning highly enriched uranium into the metalized form whose only purpose is to make nuclear weapons. Again, Iran buys more time, since Security Council action to impose sanctions on Iran is by no means certain. The world is playing a dangerous game of nuclear chicken with radical religious leaders who continue to export terror and proclaim their desire to wipe Israel off the map.”